The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act established a Federal responsibility to conserve
marine mammals with management vested in the Department of Interior for sea otter, walrus,
polar bear, dugong, and manatee. The Department of Commerce is responsible for cetaceans and
pinnipeds, other than the walrus.

With certain specified exceptions, the Act establishes a moratorium on the taking and
importation of marine mammals as well as products taken from them, and establishes procedures
for waiving the moratorium and transferring management responsibility to the States.

The law authorized the establishment of a Marine Mammal Commission with specific
advisory and research duties.

Annual reports to Congress by the Departments of Interior and Commerce and the Marine
Mammal Commission are mandated.

The 1972 law exempted Indians, Aleut, and Eskimos (who dwell on the coast of the North
Pacific Ocean) from the moratorium on taking provided that taking was conducted for the sake of
subsistence or for the purpose of creating and selling authentic native articles of handicraft and
clothing. In addition, the law stipulated conditions under which the Secretaries of Commerce
and Interior could issue permits to take marine mammals for the sake of public display and
scientific research.

The 1976 amendments (P.L. 94-265) clarified the offshore jurisdiction of the statute as the
200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

The 1978 amendments (P.L. 95-316) extended the original 5-year authorization through FY
1981.

Amendments enacted in 1981 (P.L. 97-58) established conditions for permits to be granted to
take marine mammals "incidentally" in the course of commercial fishing. In addition, the
amendments provided additional conditions and procedures for transferring management
authority to the States, and authorized appropriations through FY 1984.

The 1984 amendments (P.L. 98-364) established conditions to be satisfied as a basis for
importing fish and fish products from nations engaged in harvesting yellowfin tuna with purse
seines and other commercial fishing technology, as well as authorized appropriations for agency
activities through FY 1988.

The 1986 amendments (P.L. 99-659) amended section 101 of the original statute to allow the
incidental take of depleted marine mammals in activities other than commercial fishing, provided
that such take does not result in an unmitigable impact on subsistence harvest.

Several additional amendments were enacted in 1988 (P.L.100-711). In addition to
reauthorizing activities through FY 1993, the amendments established a process for commercial
fishermen to obtain an exemption from the moratorium on incidental take of marine mammals
for a five-year period. The Department of Commerce is authorized to conduct specific related
tasks including the granting of exemptions, providing for observer coverage, and collecting data
on the extent of incidental take.

The Secretary of Commerce is required to consult with the Secretary of Interior prior to
taking actions related to species for which the Interior Department has jurisdiction. The
California sea otter is explicitly excluded from the exemption process.

The Marine Mammal Commission is required to issue guidelines, by 1990, to govern
incidental take associated with commercial fishing after the 5-year period, and the Secretary of
Commerce is required to review and transmit recommendations to Congress before January,
1992.

Additional features of the 1988 amendments include:

the establishment of conditions and procedures for the Secretaries of Commerce and
Interior to review the status of populations to determine if they should be listed as "depleted"
(below optimal, sustainable population numbers or listed as threatened or endangered);

the preparation of conservation plans for any species listed as "depleted", including a
requirement that such plans be modeled after recovery plans developed pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act;

the listing of conditions under which permits may be issued to take marine mammals for
the protection and welfare of the animals, including importation, public display, scientific
research, and enhancing the survival or recovery of a species; and

a reward system under which the Secretary of the Treasury can pay up to $2500 to
individuals providing information leading to convictions for violations of the Act.

Public Law 101-627, signed November 28, 1990, establishes conditions for the protection of
dolphins by ocean vessels when harvesting tuna with purse seine nets. (See entry for Dolphin
Protection Consumer Information Act.)

Public Law 102-567, Title III, 306, October 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4284, directed the Secretary
of Commerce to do a study in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico on the effects of feeding noncaptive
dolphins by humans.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994 (Public Law 103-238, April 30,
1994, 108 Stat. 532) reauthorizes the law for six years through fiscal year 1999 and makes the
following updates:

clarifies that the Secretary (of Commerce) has the authority to protect essential marine
mammal habitat;

amends the moratorium and exceptions provisions to allow permits for photography for
educational purposes and import of polar bear trophy taken from populations legally harvested
before enactment of the law, April 30, 1994;

allows U.S. citizens to apply for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals
by harassment;

allows fishermen to take small numbers of marine mammals listed as threatened or
endangered under the Endangered Species Act;

allows the importation of certain marine mammal products under special
circumstances;

clarifies the Secretary's role to issue permits for public display and research;

sets clear guidelines for when the Fish and Wildlife Service can issue permits to import
polar bear trophy into the U.S. from Canada. Establishes guidelines for the permit process and
limits importation to bears taken before enactment of the amendments from healthy
populations;

allows monies from the Fund to be used for maintaining captive marine mammals seized
under special circumstances;

requires the Secretary of the Interior to review the Agreement for the Conservation of Polar
Bears to try to halt the decline of polar bear populations in Russia and Alaska;

creates a new program to manage incidental takes of marine mammals in the course of
commercial fishing operations;

makes it clear that incidental take of southern sea otters is regulated under P.L. 99-625;

establishes independent scientific review groups for Alaska, the Pacific Coast, the Gulf of
Mexico, and the Atlantic Coast to advise the Secretary of Commerce on managing incidental
take of marine mammals by commercial fishermen;

prescribes emergency regulations to reduce the level of marine mammal take in the event
that the take has a significant impact on a stock;

requires commercial fishing vessels to report marine mammal take to the Secretary of
Commerce and establishes a program to monitor incidental lethal take;

creates a Pinniped Task Force to examine impacts of seals and sea lions on fishery
stocks;

focuses on marine ecosystem protection by directing Commerce to have a workshop on
Gulf of Maine and Bering Sea ecosystems;

extends scrimshaw exemptions for five years; and

extends authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1999.

Public Law 105-18, Title V, 5004, June 12, 1997, 111 Stat. 187 and Public Law 105-42,
4(d), August 15, 1997, 111 Stat. 1125 amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments
of 1994 to allow importation of polar bear trophy into the U.S. taken in sport hunts in Canada if
the applicant legally harvested the bear before April 30, 1994 or if the bear were taken after that
date, the applicant harvested the bear from populations approved as sustainable by the Service.

In addition to the other activities under this Act, the Service comments under the Fish and
Wildlife Coordination Act on Federal projects and permits and licenses affecting sea otter,
walrus, polar bear, dugong, and manatee.